Snowshoe and harness

ABSTRACT

A molded plastic snowshoe including a frame with webbing therebetween and a transversely extending pivot with a horizontal opening defined in the snowshoe immediately in front of the pivot. A one-piece molded plastic harness includes two straps which encircle the pivot and extend around the rear of a boot and a third strap that forms a loop to receive and hold the toe of the boot. Thus, the harness pivotally engages the boot on the snowshoe and the opening in the snowshoe allows the toe of the boot to pass therethrough during perambulation.

O Umted States Patent 11 1 3,638,333

Sprandel 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [54] SNOWSHOE AND HARNESS 2,699,613 1/1955 Peterson ..36/2.5 AB

[72] Inventor: Hans W. Sprandel, 7715 Beach St. NE, Primary Examiner patrick Lawson Mmneapohs 55432 Attorney-Merchant & Gould [22] Filed: July 20, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 56,543

A molded plastic snowshoe including a frame with webbing therebetween and a transversely extending pivot with a [52] U.S.Cl ..36/4.5 horizontal opening defined in the snowshoe immediately in [51] Int. Cl ..A63c 13/00 front of the pivot. A one-piece molded plastic harness includes [58] Field of Search ..36/4.5, 2.5 R, 2.5 AB two straps whi h n r le th pi nd exten around the rear of a boot and a third strap that forms a loop to receive and [56] Ref Cited hold the toe of the boot. Thus, the harness pivotally engages the boot on the snowshoe and the opening in the snowshoe al- UNITED STATES PATENTS lows the toe of the boot to pass therethrough during perambul t 3,299,541 1/1967 Snyder ..36/2.5 AB a 2,51 1,087 6/1950 Villemur ..36/2.5 AB 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SNOWSI-IOE AND HARNESS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention Snowshoes have been used for many years by anyone having a necessity to travel on foot through deep snow. However, snowshoes are, in general, very cumbersome and difficult to use. With the advent of snowmobiles and many other winter sports, great numbers of people are traveling about the snowcovered countryside with little or no way of walking through deep snow if the necessity arises. Further, because of the' historic bulk and awkwardness of snowshoes, they are difficult to store and carry in the event they are needed and, further, snowshoes have historically not been constructed for children.

Description of the Prior Art Historically, snowshoes are constructed of a heavy wooden frame with thongs, such as rawhide, stretched therebetween to form a mesh with a leather harness affixed to the upwardly directed side for receiving a boot therein. This type of snowshoe is difficult and expensive to manufacture and is extremely cumbersome and awkward to use.

In recent years, some attempts have been made to manufacture plastic snowshoes but great difficulty has been encountered in affixing a harness thereto for correct operation of the snowshoe. In general, the harness is either weak and breaks off easily or does not allow proper movements of the snowshoe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to an improved snowshoe and harness including a frame and webbing formed of a strong, light material such as plastic with a pivot extending transversely therein and an opening defined immediately in front thereof, and a harness affixed to said pivot for pivotal movements thereabout and designed to engage a boot so that the toe of the boot extends through the opening in front of the pivot during perambulation and the snowshoe remains relatively horizontal.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved snowshoe and harness.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved snowshoe and harness which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and light and easy to use.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved snowshoe and harness wherein the harness is firmly affixed to the snowshoe and pivots thereon so that the snowshoe remains generally horizontal during use.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying specification, claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the figures:

FIG. 1 is a view in top plan of the improved snowshoe and harness therefor shown in a partially assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is a view in bottom plan of the improved snowshoe and harness of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view as seen from the line 3-3 in FIG. 1, with a boot positioned in the harness;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view as seen from the line 4-4 in FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged sectional view of the harness as seen from the line 55 in FIG. 1, portions thereof broken away;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the harness in a nonassembled position; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the harness illustrated in FIG. 6 as seen from the line 77 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the figures, the numeral 10 generally designates an improved snowshoe having a harness, generally designated 11, affixed thereto. In this embodiment, the snowshoe 10 is molded entirely of a relatively rigid plastic, but it should be understood that other materials might be incorporated therein or portions of the snowshoe might be formed of other materials and incorporated therein. The snowshoe 10 includes a frame 12 having a peripheral member 13, extending around and defining the outer limits of the snowshoe 10, a plurality of transverse support members 14, extending between portions of the peripheral member 13 in spaced-apart relationship, and a plurality of longitudinal support members 15, extending generally perpendicular to the transverse support members 14. The peripheral member 13 and the support members 14 and 15 are approximately equal in depth so that the bottoms thereof all rest on a supporting surface, such as the ground, to prevent extreme. stress to any part of the snowshoe 10 when it is being used on a relatively flat and hard surface. Webbing 16 is provided between the various members l3, l4 and 15 of the frame 12 and, in this embodiment, is integrally formed with the frame 12. The webbing 16 is substantially thinner than the various members 13, 14 and 15 of the frame 12 to reduce the weight of the snowshoe 10.

The frame 12 of the snowshoe 10' is designed to receive a boot, such as boot 20, approximately centrally positioned thereon. With the boot 20 correctly positioned on the snowshoe 10, a transverse support member 140 extends approximately beneath the ball of a foot positioned in the boot 20 and a centrally located longitudinal support member 15a extends from the transverse support member 14a rearwardly to the peripheral member 13. Thus, the weight of the operator is initially on the support members 14a and 15a and distributed throughout the snowshoe 10 by the interconnecting of the remaining support members 14 and 15.

A pivot 25, formed of a cylindrical or rodlike piece of material, is spaced forwardly of and parallel with the transverse support member l4a. The pivot 25 extends between two spaced apart longitudinal support members 15 extending parallel with and on each side of the central support member 15a. Webbing 16 extends throughout the area between the pivot 25 and the transverse support member 14a, except for two transversely extending slots 26 and 27, immediately to the rear of the pivot 25. Further, the webbing l6 defines a generally semicircular opening 28 immediately forward of the pivot 25, with the pivot 25 positioned generally along the diameter thereof. The centrally located longitudinal support member 154 is discontinued through the opening 28 to leave the opening 28 free of obstructions. A pair of generally cylindrical projections 29 are affixed in downwardly extending relationship to the pivot 25 transversely outwardly of the slots 26 and 27. The projections 29 extend downwardly a distance approximately equal to the depth of the members 13, 14 and 15 of the frame 12 and serve to support the pivot 25 when an operator uses the snowshoe 10 on a relatively flat, hard surface.

The hamess l 1 includes a pair of spaced-apart straps 35 and 36 and a third strap 27. In this embodiment the entire harness 11 is molded from a plastic, which is somewhat softer and more resilient than the plastic forming the frame 12. It should be understood however that the harness 11 might be formed from a variety of materials and in a variety of embodiments. The straps 35, 36 and 37 are integrally formed in this embodiment with the strap 37 being substantially wider than the straps 35 and 36 and the straps 35 and 36 extending from the strap 37 generally rearwardly. Slots 38 and 39 are defined in the strap 37 approximately centrally therein and aligned with the straps 35 and 36, respectively, for receiving the ends of the straps 35 and 36 therethrough. Two additional slots 40 and 41 are formed adjacent the rear edge of the strap 37 in approximate alignment with the slots 38 and 39 and the straps 35 and 36. Each of the straps 35 and 36 has a ramp-shaped projection 45 and 46 thereon, which projections 45 and 46 are oriented to increase in height as they approach the strap 37.

To affix the harness 11 to the snowshoe 10, the strap 37 is positioned above the pivot 25 so as to extend generally parallel thereto, with the straps 35 and 36 extending forwardly. With the strap 37 held firmly in position, so that the slots 39 and 38 overlie the slots 26 and 27 in the snowshoe 10, the straps 35 and 36 are bent downwardly through the opening 28 and threaded upwardly through the slots 26, 39 and 27, 28, respectively.-The straps 35 and 36 are pulled through the respective slots until they tightly encircle the pivot 25 and the projections 45 and 46 have been pulled through the slots 38 and 39, respectively. At this point the projections 45 and 46 engage an upper surface of the strap 37 (as seen in FIG. to prevent the straps 35 and 36 from slipping back through the respective slots. The straps 35 and 36 are then engaged through the slots 40 and 41, which serves to maintain them fixedly engaged and correctly positioned. in this position the harness 11 is pivotally engaged about the pivot 25 with the ends of the strap 37 extending transversely outwardly and the ends of the straps 35 and 36 extending rearwardly.

Each end of the strap 37 has a plurality of holes 50 formed therein so that the ends of the strap 37 can be pulled upwardly and together to form a boot-toe receiving loop and a shoestring or the like can be laced through the holes 50 to hold the strap 37 fixedly in place. A pair of hook-shaped recesses 51 are formed adjacent the end of the strap 35 and pair of openings 52 are formed adjacent the end of the strap 36. In this embodiment it is contemplated that a resilient member, such as a heavy rubberband 53 (see FIG. 3) is fixedly engaged through one of the openings 52 so as to leave a loop therein. To engage the boot 20 in the harness 11, the toe thereof is inserted in the loop formed by the strap 37 and the straps 35 and 36 are turned upwardly along each side thereof. The rubberband 53 is drawn around the rear of the boot 20 and engaged in one of the recesses 51. Two openings 52 are provided in the strap 36 and two recesses 51 are provided in the strap 35 so that the overall length of the straps 35 and 36 and the rubberband 53 are adjustable to fit a variety of lengths of boots.

Thus, the harness 11 pivotally attaches the boot 20 to the upper surface of the snowshoe for pivotal movement about a transverse axis. In operation, it is preferable that snowshoes remain relatively horizontal and the snowshoes are in effect dragged over the surface of the snow as the wearers feet move in a relatively normal walking motion. The snowshoes should remain relatively horizontal to prevent the tips from catching in the snow an other obstructions. With the presently described snowshoe l0 and harness l l the boot 20 is firmly affixed to the snowshoe 10 while being free to pivot about the axis of the pivot 25. Further, the semicircular opening 28 provided immediately forward of the pivot 25 allows the toe of the boot 20 to pass downwardly through the plane of the snowshoe 10 in the normal walking action. The forward end of the snowshoe 10 may be curved slightly upwardly or may remain flat, as desired.

Thus, an improved snowshoe and harness is disclosed which allows the wearer to walk in a relatively normal fashion while retaining the snowshoes beneath his feet. These major advantages are provided by the novel pivotal connection of the harness 11 to the snowshoe l0 and by the toe-receiving opening 28 immediately forward of the pivot 25. In addition, the harness 11 is securely attached to the snowshoe 10 so that it can become disengaged only through a major breakage of one of the components. Because of the inexpensive construction and simplicity of operation of the presently described snowshoe and harness, models can be constructed for all ages of children and grownups and pairs of the snowshoes can be easily stored on snowmobiles and the like for emergency uses.

theageneral direction of movement of said snowshoe; c. sai frame and webbing defining an opening therethrough generally forward of said rodlike pivot for periodically receiving therein during perambulation the toe of a boot properly positioned on said snowshoe; and

d. a harness having a portion thereof generally encircling said rodlike pivot for affixing said harness to said pivot so as to allow pivotal movement thereabout.

2. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame, webbing and rodlike pivot are formed integrally of plastic.

3. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein:

a. said webbing defines two transversely extending slots adjacent the rear of said rodlike pivot; and

b. said harness includes a pair of straps generally encircling said rodlike pivot in spaced-apart relationship for pivotal movement thereabout and each extending rearwardly through a difierent one of said slots for affixing about the rear of a shoe.

4. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rodlike pivot has at least one downwardly extending projection affixed thereto and positioned to engage a supporting surface and reduce bending of said rodlike pivot when said snowshoe is placed thereon.

5. An improved snowshoe and harness comprising:

a. a frame including webbing and a horizontally and transversely extending pivot;

b. a pair of straps encircling said pivot in spaced-apart relationship for pivotal movements thereabout and extending rearwardly, said straps having means thereon for affixing them together and about the rear of a shoe; and

c. a third strap afiixed to each of said pair of straps and extending transversely thereof, said third strap having means thereon for affixing it about the toe of a shoe.

6. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 5 wherein the pair of straps and the third strap are formed as an integral unit.

7. An improved snowshoe and harness comprising:

a. a frame including webbing and a horizontally and transversely extending pivot;

b. a pair of integrally formed straps engaged around said pivot in spaced-apart relationship for pivotal movements thereabout and extending rearwardly, said straps having a ramplike projection thereon fonned integrally therewith and said straps including means thereon for affixing them together and about the rear of a shoe; and

c. a third strap integrally formed with said pair of straps having means thereon for affixing it about the toe of a shoe and defining two spaced-apart slots therethrough adapted to each receive one of said pair of straps therein, each of said slots being fonned for readily receiving one of said pair of straps and the associated projection therethrough in encircling position about the pivot and for restricting the withdrawal of the strap and projection therefrom.

8. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 5 wherein the means for affixing the pair of straps together about the rear of a shoe includes a resilient member, stretchable to fit different sized shoes. 

1. An improved snowshoe and harness comprising: a. a frame defining an opening having webbing therein to provide support on loose snow and the like; b. a rodlike pivot affixed to said frame and positioned generally in the plane thereof so as to extend transverse to the general direction of movement of said snowshoe; c. said frame and webbing defining an opening therethrough generally forward of said rodlike pivot for periodically receiving therein during perambulation the toe of a boot properly positioned on said snowshoe; and d. a harness having a portion thereof generally encircling said rodlike pivot for affixing said harness to said pivot so as to allow pivotal movement thereabout.
 2. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame, webbing and rodlike pivot are formed integrally of plastic.
 3. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 2 wherein: a. said webbing defines two transversely extending slots adjacent the rear of said rodlike pivot; and b. said harness includes a pair of straps generally encircling said rodlike pivot in spaced-apart relationship for pivotal movement thereabout and each extending rearwardly through a different one of said slots for affixing about the rear of a shoe.
 4. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rodlike pivot has at least one downwardly extending projection affixed thereto and positioned to engage a supporting surface and reduce bending of said rodlike pivot when said snowshoe is placed thereon.
 5. An improved snowshoe and harness comprising: a. a frame including webbing and a horizontally and transversely extending pivot; b. a pair of straps encircling said pivot in spaced-apart relationship for pivotal movements thereabout and extending rearwardly, said straps having means thereon for affixing them together and about the rear of a shoe; and c. a third strap affixed to each of said pair of straps and extending transversely thereof, said third strap having means thereon for affixing it about the toe of a shoe.
 6. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 5 wherein the pair of straps and the third strap are formed as an integral unit.
 7. An improved snowshoe and harness comprising: a. a frame including webbing and a horizontally and transversely extending pivot; b. a pair of integrally formed straps engaged around said pivot in spaced-apart relationship for pivotal movements thereabout and extending rearwardly, said straps having a ramplike projection thereon formed integrally therewith and said straps including means thereon for affixing them together and about the rear of a shoe; and c. a third strap integrally formed with said pair of straps having means thereon for affixing it about the toe of a shoe and defining two spaced-apart slots therethrough adapted to each receive one of said pair of straps therein, each of said slots being formed for readily receiving one of said pair of straps and the associated projection therethrough in encircling position about the pivot and for restricting the withdrawal of the strap and projection therefrom.
 8. An improved snowshoe and harness as set forth in claim 5 whErein the means for affixing the pair of straps together about the rear of a shoe includes a resilient member, stretchable to fit different sized shoes. 